Tuesday, 22 September 2009

Tikal, temples and jungle

View from Temple IV, with the bigger temples coming through the forest

It was nice to spend sometime with Remy, but now I have crossed the border back to Guatemala and I am in Maya Country.Today I got up extremely early, too early actually, and went up from the town I am staying in, Santa Elena to Tikal.Tikal are the main Mayan ruins in this country, and one of its main tourist attractions.I went really early to avoid the hordes of tourists who descend on it, but also cos we are in the rainy season and we are getting torrential rains every afternoon.Double click to enlarge view from Temple VI have been to some spectacular human creations, both in this trip and before, and I have also seen some great landscapes. What makes Tikal so special is how Nature and Human work have merged in this amazing site.Temple of Jaguar, and please not really cute Israeli guy next to meAfter the decline of the Mayans the jungle took back what it had once owned and for hundreds of years Tikal was lost. It was not until 1848 that the first scientific expedition was sent.Grand PlazaWhen I first got to the Grand Plaza I thought it was pretty impressive, but the best bit is to climb to the top Temple IV. The forest canopy extends as far as the eye can see, punctured by the top of the highest temples.Temple V has also a great views, but the stairs are far too steep. I was starting to feel nauseous about walking down when a French guy next to me had a little panic attack, and would not move up or down, which made me snap out of my panic as someone was more scared than me.Scary Temple V, there were two vultures on the top, probably waiting for one of us to fall down the very steep stairsTikal is also great for its wildlife. I managed to see Spider Monkeys, that I had not seen before, and some toucans.Spider MonkeyIt may not be as elaborate as Angor Wat but some of the views are probably the best I have ever seen.

A Degree Of Familiarity

After 12 years in continuous employment I was 'credit crunched' in November 2008. I decided that I wasn't going to stay in London wasting my redundancy money and fighting with 500 people for the 3 jobs that might become available throughout 2009.
I have always wanted to go away for a substantial period of time: travel the world, go to those places that you that really can't experience properly on a 2 week holiday, Laos or Indonesia for example.
I am also planning to do some enviromental charity work in Costa Rica.
At the same time I also felt that I needed a break from London. As much as I love the city and its opportunities it was wearing me down. I need a little time to regroup my thoughts and decide what to do with my life.
I hope someone out there will read this and enjoy it.
And please, I'd really like to hear your comments, any feedback would be highly appreciated.